Tons of talent returns for A-W baseball Titans

Monday

Mar 25, 2013 at 8:48 PMMar 25, 2013 at 8:50 PM

Eight starters lead Annawan-Wethersfield into 2013 season

Mike Landis

The only thing holding back the Annawan-Wethersfield baseball team is the weather.Coach Jeff Parsons returns eight starters from a Titans team that tied a school record with 27 wins and notched the program’s third straight regional championship.“The sky is the limit,” said Parsons of his 2013 squad.The Titans have yet to take the field — losing seven games to the weather to date — but when they do Parsons will be able to put a player with extensive varsity experience at nearly every position.“Our team speed is good and the defense will be solid as most of our seniors have been part of three straight regional titles,” said Parsons. “We hit well over .300 as a team last year and our top six hitters are back.”Seniors leading the Titans are outfielder Trey Hannam, third baseman and pitcher Tyler Litton, shortstop and pitcher Cody Phillips, catcher and pitcher Kegan Jacobson, first baseman and pitcher Zach VanWassenhove, and pitcher and utility man Tony Gripp.Juniors returning with varsity experience are second baseman and pitcher Trevor Lay and lefty staff ace Matt Jenkins.Also back in the mix is senior outfielder Grant Baele, and he’s joined by four junior newcomers — Jake Bennett, Blake Vincent, Austin Osborne and Micam Smith — battling for varsity time.The Titans will face a new challenge in the postseason as they step up to 2A come regional time.“With the jump to 2A, we look to have continued success in the postseason,” said Parsons, “but realizing it will be more challenging.”The upperclassmen from Annawan and Wethersfield are no strangers to success in the 2012-13 sports calendar.“The football team made a run to the final eight, the basketball teams were successful and so we hope to keep it rolling in the spring,” said Parsons. “We should be one of the top teams in the area.”Parsons is assisted by Jason Burkiewicz, Logan Willits and Gary Moore.